Citizens to be tasked with monitoring TV, radio content
– as GNBA continues effort to enforce broadcasting policies
MEDIA monitors will be drawn from different age groups, communities and organisations from across the country to aid the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) in its efforts to ensure that broadcasters comply with regulations. This will be done as part of the GNBA’s Citizens Monitoring Programme which will be rolled out in September. The programme will give Guyanese the opportunity to report their concerns, about television or radio programmes, to the GNBA. “The media monitors will work under the tutelage and guidance of the GNBA,” said GNBA Board Member, Dr. Rovin Deodat, in his presentation during GNBA’s fourth stakeholder engagement, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Tuesday. According to Dr. Deodat, the authority often receives complaints about certain programmes from viewers. In that regard, he said viewers should be able to have a better role to play in ensuring that broadcasters stay in line.
As such, the focus of the new programme will be to ensure that any broadcast of obscene, lewd and distasteful language is reported. The programme is expected to improve the GNBA’s monitoring capacity since the authority has a small core of monitors. “We will be establishing citizen monitors who will have set parameters, so all over Guyana the ordinary public will be listening and once a complaint comes in we will be taking action,” said Chairman of the GNBA, Leslie Sobers. With Guyana heading closer to an elections season, the GNBA will be looking to increase its capacity by combining monitoring efforts with not only the public, but also with the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM)’s media monitoring unit when it is established and a Caribbean entity that has the capacity to monitor all broadcasters in Guyana.
“Our country will be moving into a period that has its own excitement and during this time we intend that there should be no misuse of the airways…be assured that defiance and violations will be treated appropriately,” Sobers asserted. He said the role of the GNBA is not to make life difficult for broadcasters, but to help them achieve a standard that is comparable with or even exceeds international broadcasting standards. “We do not monitor to make life difficult, we do so to prevent harm, we call in our broadcasters to admonish and encourage compliance with the broadcast policy,” said the GNBA chairman. The broadcasting authority has even gone to the extent of colour coding infractions, with red being a serious infraction, orange being less serious and yellow being a minor infraction. GNBA has even worked out a system to fine broadcasters according to the colour code. Broadcasters who have red infractions will have to pay a fine of $50,000-$100,000 while those with orange infractions have to pay a fine of $25,000-$50,000 and those with yellow will be fined between $10,000-$25,000.
Broadcasters can also be fined $50,000 for failure to provide a recording when ordered to do so. In addition, if a broadcaster fails to pay a fine on the due date, the authority will add $1000 for every $1,000 not paid. Repeat offenders will, however, be liable for suspension or revocation of licences.
Source: Guyana Chronicle
